Brain

Brain imaging studies of violent criminals are difficult to interpret because the most persistent among them — those who are responsible for a disproportionate amount of all crime — are not only violent but also …

Every parent thinks they’re baby is exceptionally smart — and cute, too. But while it can’t be true that every infant is above average, Lake Wobegon-style, it turns out that babies become able to reason surprisingly well at a …

It’s hard to believe that blowing your nose or drinking coffee could be deadly. But for those who — perhaps unknowingly — have an untreated brain aneurysm, these everyday actions could trigger a life-threatening stroke, a new …

Ever find yourself physically cringing as you watch those hopeful contestants on American Idol who have no clue that they can’t sing? If so, you’re probably a highly empathetic person, according to new study published in the …

There are only a lucky few among us who can’t relate to the intense pain of being rejected by a significant other. If a breakup is unexpected, it’s all the more painful — it can hurt with such intensity that you can’t …

Psychologist Jesse Bering is best known for his often risqué (and sometimes NSFW) Bering in Mind blog for Scientific American, which examines human behavior — frequently of the sexual sort. But he’s also the director of the …

Contrary to popular opinion, people who say they are still madly in love with their spouses after more than two decades are not crazy. At least, some of them aren’t. And in answer to your next question, apparently they’re not lying either.

Physicians have long believed that some form of deception is essential to the placebo effect: after all, if you tell people that you’re giving them a fake drug, why would they respond by getting better?